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Friday, June 17, 2016

Something is Missing

I've lived in West Texas for 7.5 months now, but its just now starting to sink in just how much I miss my horse.

The first month I was busy finding a job, settling into my new home, and just overall getting everything set up. The next month, I started taking lessons at a barn and looked around casually for a lease. Then started the craziness of getting registered for classes, finding the funds to pay for tuition, and scouring the internet for textbook deals. The month after that, I started leasing Missy, and then school started. So for most of 2016 thus far, I've had a horse on lease and I've been very very busy with school. It didn't really hit me until these last few weeks since school let out and I stopped leasing Missy in order to save money to move my own horse.

In many ways, Lady isn't all that special. She's 17 years old and shows her age a bit. She's a grade horse of some kind, mostly Arab and Quarter Horse. She definitely has her share of attitude and behavioral quirks that make it tough to deal with her sometimes. She was the horse that my trainer raised an eyebrow at and said was too difficult and that I should keep looking.

But this December will mark 9 years that she's been in my life. I was 13 years old when we brought her home and I could not imagine my life without her in it. We've been through so much together. People have asked me why I don't just leave her at my parents' farm while I'm in college. She's not costing me much at all just being there and she's happy to live outside and graze all day.

So, am I selfish for wanting to bring her here to live in an environment that will require stall time and far less turnout than she is used to? I could build a fence on some family land about 20 minutes away from where I live and keep her there, but that would make it harder for me to achieve the show goals that I want. On the other hand, I love the college equestrian center where I take lessons and would love to keep her there.

All in all, something is missing from my life right now, and that something is my favorite ordinary mare.

Next week, I make the trek back across Texas and I'll get to see Lady in person again. The vet is coming out for her Coggins and shots, and I'll make decisions then. In the meantime, the thought of getting to hug and take care of my girl again is tiding me over.